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Best x27 eyepiece for Nikon ED50 (1 Viewer)

Nick Leech

Nick Leech

Well-known member
United Kingdom
Dear friends

I have a Nikon ED50 (straight) scope and I wear glasses. I was thinking that the x27 DS eyepiece might be a better bet for a glasses-wearer than the x27 MC II eyepiece.

Do people agree with this or not? Which would be the better x27 eyepiece for someone who wears glasses?

Also, is it worthwhile buying the MC II 13-40 zoom eyepiece as well as having the x27 fixed eyepiece? Besides the relative merits of zoom vs fixed eyepieces, I have heard someone say that the zoom ring on the zoom eyepiece is very awkward to turn for a person wearing glasses (ie when the twist-up eyecup is down).

Any advice?

cheers,
Nick
 
Last edited:
If You use glasses, the eyecup of the MC is going to be all the way down,most of the time,so the DS would work for You as well..If You digiscope ,and wanna use nikon adapters,the DS is designed to make these fit,..For other adapters the MC ,with its smaller diameter can be easier to fit..The MC is very good for digiscoping too,and offers that little extra protection against flare that the cup adds,plus the slightly smaller ocular has less glass surface,and maybe suffers less from back reflections...really ,grab either one if you can,they are both VERY sought after..
 
Thanks guys for your comments to date.

Does anybody have any view on the 13-40 MC II zoom eyepiece for use with glasses?

cheers,
Nick
 
I think its usable,even at high power,but short eye relief and minute exit pupil are not the qualities you look for in a comfy view...short eye relief at high power and small exit pupil are present in most zooms though,sooo...A narrow than average field of view is another Nikon Zoom trademark,But the image is sharper than most zooms.in my opinion..I think i,d rather to have the 16XDS and the 27X than the 27 and the zoom,but thats me..
The point of Sancho mentioning his own glasses while telling his experience make me think that really eyeglasses are very important part of the equation for Us eyeglass wearing people,but I have not yet read a thread discussing the best eyeglass frame for birding..and We have discussed all kind of topics here,from shoe laces to insect repellents!!!..Sancho,Are You opening a thread on Eyeglasses Frames?..
 
mayoayo said:
The point of Sancho mentioning his own glasses while telling his experience make me think that really eyeglasses are very important part of the equation for Us eyeglass wearing people,but I have not yet read a thread discussing the best eyeglass frame for birding..and We have discussed all kind of topics here,from shoe laces to insect repellents!!!..Sancho,Are You opening a thread on Eyeglasses Frames?..
Click to expand...

A Best Frames for Birding thread? Interesting....

I'm not someone who keeps multiple pairs due to monetary issues, as my prescription is so strong I need fancy thin lenses to keep my head from drooping..! My glasses are small, thin-framed, and sit close to my eyes. Probably too close, but that's another story.

Wandering back towards the OP's question... The MCII zoom is a bugger if you have eyeglasses for long sight, and great if you wear them for short sight. So I get on with it like a house on fire! But that's an eye relief issue. The zoom ring itself has never been a problem for me - the eyepiece is so small for what it is [especially compared to the bean cans they use for those pointless* zooms these days] that there's not a lot of room on it, but the ring is smooth to turn and easy to find even with gloves.




[*Very much imho - if you've got a 25-50 zoom with pretty much the same field at 50 as at 25, then what's the point of using 25 at all?? Why not have a simpler, cheaper, smaller, lighter, fixed 50? It defeats the point of being a zoom, which is to combine a big bright low-mag field to find things, with the high mag to get a good look at them.]
 
In my experience the DS and MC do not differ for eyeglass use, but if you share views with folks who don't wear glasses they may prefer the MC. That said, my vote for the best 27x for the 50ED is the 27x WF (discontinued)--it has the same glass at the MC and DS (maybe very slightly inferior coatings) but is much more compact, and so better fits the tiny scope.

--AP
 
The Kerreran (Tom):

You say "the MCII zoom is a bugger if you have eyeglasses for long sight, and great if you wear them for short sight".

Why is that?

I am primarily short-sighted, but wear varifocals. If I am looking through a scope I will be looking through the top part of the varifocals - ie the part that is for short-sightedness. Does that mean that I should have no problem with the MCII zoom eyepiece?

Nick
 
Hi Nick,

The issue is eye relief, which the MCII zoom doesn't have much of. This is primarily due [I believe] to the small ocular [if that's the right term, apologies if it isn't - I mean the bit you look into].
Glasses that correct for short sight artificially increase eye relief, and those for long sight reduce it, so if you're long-sighted, you find it very hard to look through the zoom, as the already low eye relief is further reduced.

As someone with [very] short sight, I find the zoom to be very easy to use as my glasses boost the eye relief to what is for me an ideal level. My glasses also mean I find it difficult to use eyepieces with lots of eye relief - so with Nikon's fixed eyepieces, I have to twist out the eyecups as if I wasn't wearing glasses...

Varifocals are something I've no personal experience of, though as you're short-sighted I would think you should be ok. I'd definitely recommend trying before you buy if you can - the standard optics advice, found on every thread. ;)
 
Seems like most of the people posting in this thread are from overseas, but does anyone know why the MC eyepieces are no longer available in the U.S.? I just bought an ED50 today, but am only now finding out that this celebrated 27x fixed-power eyepiece is not sold by the American online retailers. Hmm....
 
I assume it has to do with some decision made by Nikon's US branch. Either that or they stopped making them altogether and stopped shipping them to the US some years before running out in Japan. It is kind of baffling.

I got mine from Amazon.jp, using Tenso.com as a forwarding service. It worked fine and even with fees it was much cheaper than the few I've seen on eBay, but it was still much more messing around than I would have preferred.
 
I think It would be a good question for member "mikefreiberg" to answer..He works for Nikon USA as their Birding line of products guy....He should Know...send Him a PM
 
mayoayo said:
I think It would be a good question for member "mikefreiberg" to answer..He works for Nikon USA as their Birding line of products guy....He should Know...send Him a PM
Click to expand...

Mayo:

Mike has had a PM, and he responded to mine recently about the very
question about Fieldscope eyepieces.

He said he would get back to me, but it seems he only looks here every
month or 2, and if he asks Nikon, they don't give him any clear answers.
I am thinking Nikon with the recent tsunami, and problems they have been dealing with, have much to deal with.

He should know, that if a Nikon rep. does post, they should know things like this.
The fieldscope line compares to the top line optics, but it seems Nikon, wants to go from the med. Prostaff to the EDG.
I am one that votes to keep the excellent Fieldscope line available with eyepieces.

For me, I cannot afford the EDG scope, but want a very nice spotter
in a price range the Fieldscope line is delivering.

I agree, if anyone has questions, send him a PM.

Jerry
 
LabradorDuck said:
...
I got mine from Amazon.jp, using Tenso.com as a forwarding service. It worked fine and even with fees it was much cheaper than the few I've seen on eBay, but it was still much more messing around than I would have preferred.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I want to do. Right now I only see the 27x DS eyepiece on Amazon.jp. Am I missing the MC? I guess I'd rather have that one.

Also, any tips for newbies using Tenso.com?

Mark
 
Kammerdiner said:
That's exactly what I want to do. Right now I only see the 27x DS eyepiece on Amazon.jp. Am I missing the MC? I guess I'd rather have that one.

Also, any tips for newbies using Tenso.com?

Mark
Click to expand...

http://www.amazon.co.jp/Nikon-フィールドスコープ接眼レンズ-40X・50X-ワイドMC-40XWMC/dp/B000PKHT2W/

This is the 27/40/50 MC eyepiece. It says there's one left in stock but more on the way, but I'm not sure if there actually are more or if that's just Amazon boilerplate.

It was pretty straightforward. I did have to sign up for an Amazon.jp account even though I already had a US Amazon one. The only time I got confused was when it came time to input the shipping address. It took some time to figure out what part of the Tenso address went in which field. Unfortunately I don't remember enough to give you hints, but it's something to be careful about.
 
LabradorDuck said:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/Nikon-フィールドスコープ接眼レンズ-40X・50X-ワイドMC-40XWMC/dp/B000PKHT2W/

This is the 27/40/50 MC eyepiece. It says there's one left in stock but more on the way, but I'm not sure if there actually are more or if that's just Amazon boilerplate.

It was pretty straightforward. I did have to sign up for an Amazon.jp account even though I already had a US Amazon one. The only time I got confused was when it came time to input the shipping address. It took some time to figure out what part of the Tenso address went in which field. Unfortunately I don't remember enough to give you hints, but it's something to be careful about.
Click to expand...

Thanks Labrador! I'm off to wade through the process. Can't wait, because that 27x sounds like the bee's knees.

Mark
 
NDhunter said:
Mayo:

Mike has had a PM, and he responded to mine recently about the very
question about Fieldscope eyepieces.

He said he would get back to me, but it seems he only looks here every
month or 2, and if he asks Nikon, they don't give him any clear answers.
I am thinking Nikon with the recent tsunami, and problems they have been dealing with, have much to deal with.

He should know, that if a Nikon rep. does post, they should know things like this.
The fieldscope line compares to the top line optics, but it seems Nikon, wants to go from the med. Prostaff to the EDG.
I am one that votes to keep the excellent Fieldscope line available with eyepieces.

For me, I cannot afford the EDG scope, but want a very nice spotter
in a price range the Fieldscope line is delivering.

I agree, if anyone has questions, send him a PM.

Jerry
Click to expand...


This is my reply to the PM I received yesterday.

Hi mark,

Sorry for the delay! I am not on the forum as consistently as I would like to be due to a rigorous traveling schedule. In any event, we carry so many SKUs thus unfortunately cuts have to be made. It is odd, the Fieldscope IIIs and ED50 have sold spectacularly but the additional eyepieces haven't followed suit. The eyepieces have done well, but not well enough to continue mass production of them. The powers that be decided we need to focus on other items that are selling far better. There are still eyepieces out there in the WA fashion, but they would have to be found at random spots on the internet a la carte. I, like you, wish we were producing these items, because I am certain I would sell them well at my shows. I do know that changes are to be made in the future, but I am not at liberty to say what those are. And believe me Mark, I wish I could. I hope this helps even a little bit. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with.

You best option is this even though it is only 16x. It is a fantastic eyepiece and I still use mine on my Fieldscope IIIs and ED50. http://www.opticsplanet.net/nikon-fi...x-wide-ds.html


All the best,
Mike Freiberg
Nikon Birding Market Specialist
 
Alexis Powell said:
In my experience the DS and MC do not differ for eyeglass use, but if you share views with folks who don't wear glasses they may prefer the MC. That said, my vote for the best 27x for the 50ED is the 27x WF (discontinued)--it has the same glass at the MC and DS (maybe very slightly inferior coatings) but is much more compact, and so better fits the tiny scope.

--AP
Click to expand...

You could call and see if the 27x WF|WA (#7464) is still available at cameralandny:
http://www.cameralandny.com/optics/nikon.pl?page=nikon7464

-Wim
 
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